The Justice Ministry said Thursday it had ample evidence to implicate Kurt Waldheim in Nazi atrocities in the Balkans during World War II. It is contained in an interim report submitted Wednesday to Justice Minister Yitzhak Modai by a special committee investigating
The report coincided with publication of an interview with Waldheim in Yediot Achronot which quoted him as saying he would like to visit Israel and talk to its people. Waldheim also told the Israeli newspaper,
Waldheim went on to say, "The truth is that Austria is no more anti-Semitic than other countries. I have met thousands of people during my (election) campaign and have not come across any manifestations of anti-Semitism."
The report to Justice Minister Modai said Israel has evidence supporting allegations that Waldheim was fully aware of atrocities against Yugoslav partisans and the mass deportation of Greek Jews when he served as an
WALDHEIM WAS AT LEAST AN ‘ACCESSORY’
Modai commented on Voice of Israel Radio Thursday that the evidence indicates Waldheim
In the Yediot Achronot interview, Waldheim suggested that the campaign against him, led by the World Jewish Congress, stemmed from the fact that he was perceived as hostile to Israel and Zionism when he served as United Nations Secretary General from
"I have visited Israel several times and if I am elected I would be glad to visit again in order to contribute to improving relations between the two countries and the two peoples. I have quite a few friends in Israel," Waldheim told the newspaper.
As candidate of the conservative People’s Party, Waldheim won 49.66 percent of the vote in the May 4 Presidential elections in Austria. He faces his Socialist rival, Kurt Steyrer, in a
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
